World

Powerful quake kills 4 in Indonesia

by Sanjay Jha | November 17, 2008 at 02:36 am

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Latest report says that the powerful earthquake struck in an area off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi left at least four people dead and causing several buildings to collapse. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the coastal town of Gorontalo early on Monday, and was followed by a magnitude 5.8 aftershock, triggering a tsunami warning. The alert was lifted shortly afterward, but that did little to avert a period of widespread panic.

The 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake that struck Indonesia's North Sulawesi province and nearby regions early on Monday killed at least one person and destroyed at least 100 buildings, officials said.

The epicentre of the powerful quake was located about 138 km northwest of Gorontalo on North Sulwesi and it occurred about 10 km beneath the seabed.

A series of aftershocks followed the powerful quake, with the highest measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, sparking a further panic among residents and preventing them from returning to their homes.

Thousands of residents in Gorontalo, Palu and other regions remained outdoors six hours after the quake. They were staying in the hills for fear of tidal waves despite the lifting of the official tsunami warning.

In the district of Buol Toli-toli in central Sulwesi province at least 100 homes collapsed. More than 20,000 residents fled their homes, the state-run Antara news agency and Elshinta private radio reported.

At least one person was killed in the quake and a number of school buildings collapsed in northern Gorontalo, Rustam Pakaya of the crisis centre at the health ministry said.